Berlusconi's New Song Apparently Plagiarizes This Italian Rapper

The former Italian Prime Minister, who resigned last November, has been accused by Italian rapper J.Ax of appropriating words from one of his songs to create a new anthem for his party before next year's elections, The Telegraph reports.

Berlusconi, who used to be a cruise ship singer, claims to have written the song, 'People of Liberty', himself in just three-and-a-half hours. But J.Ax (whose real name is Alessandro Aleotti) says the song's lyrics ("We are the people who hope and who fight, who believe in the dream of liberty") are strikingly similar to those of 'People Who Hope' a song he penned almost a decade ago.

J.Ax even threatened to take legal action against the already embattled politician. He tweeted: "Tomorrow I will file a complaint against Berlusconi. F***ing incredible."

The new anthem is the latest attempt by Berlusconi to revamp his party and portray himself as an elder statesman or 'father figure'. He is also allegedly considering changing the name of his party, from People of Freedom to 'Forza Italiani' - 'Go, Italians!" according to The Telegraph.